Anthony's Coal Fired Pizza & Wings Introduces Artificial Intelligence Phone Answering System

BurgerFi International Inc., owner of one of the nation's leading fast-casual "better burger" dining concepts through the BurgerFi brand, and the high-quality, casual dining pizza brand under the name Anthony's Coal Fired Pizza & Wings ("Anthony's"), announced today the introduction of artificial intelligence (AI) phone answering systems in all 60 corporate-owned Anthony's locations. The systems will leverage ConverseNow, the leading voice AI technology platform for restaurants.

AI is quickly growing in popularity in the restaurant industry. Reports show that 50 percent of restaurants in the country are...

SpotOn Finds Most Restaurant Operators Making Operational Changes to Capitalize 2022 Holiday Season

As restaurants gear up for the holidays, SpotOn, the top-rated software and payments partner for restaurants, is helping owners and operators maximize revenue and streamline operations for a memorable—and profitable—season. According to SpotOn’s State of Restaurant Tech Report, restaurant operators say that the holiday season accounts for up to 20% of their annual sales, with fine dining operators putting that figure at nearly half (49%). With a significant portion of annual revenue on the line, restaurants are turning to technology to drive operational efficiencies... 

Roy Rogers Restaurants Readies for Unit Growth with Prototype Remodel and Technology Upgrades

Roy Rogers Restaurants, the western-themed quick-service restaurant chain based in Frederick, Md., announces key investments in remodeling and technology initiatives to drive brand growth with franchise partners. For over 50 years, Roy Rogers has remained true to its guiding principle of authenticity. When deciding to blaze a trail of evolution, brand owners executed an innovative, efficient remodel that celebrates its rich history while entering a new era of relevance and creating an enjoyable environment for a new generation of customers and longstanding fans of the brand...

Chipotle Pilots Advanced Tehnology to Enhance the Employee and Guest Experience

Chipotle Mexican Grill today announced it is piloting advanced technologies to enhance its employee and guest experience by streamlining operations and reducing friction. The company recently began piloting two new technologies in its restaurants to deliver precise forecasting, optimal quality, and increased convenience for digital guests.

Kitchen Management System
In select Southern California restaurants, Chipotle is piloting a cook to needs kitchen management system that provides demand-based cooking and ingredient preparation forecasts to optimize throughput and freshness while minimizing food waste. Leveraging AI and machine learning, the system...

Upcoming Marketplace Will Help Emerging Natural Brands Expand Their Reach

Global B2B marketplace and US-based supplier GreenDropShip has developed an online platform to spur emerging natural brands' growth by helping consumers connect with qualified online merchants. GreenDropShip is best known for offering innovative solutions in the rapidly growing eCommerce space as it relates to groceries, personal care, home goods, and baby products.

This tech innovation sprang from a need for emerging natural and organic brands to maximize their footprint and find top merchants for their products. As eCommerce continues to expand at a booming pace, this marketplace will create...

McDonald's To Open Speedee Labs Within Company's Chicago Global Headquarters

Today, McDonald's Corporation is announcing the establishment of a new facility, Speedee Labs, which will be focused on driving the customer experience and supporting restaurant teams through innovation, at its global headquarters (MHQ) located at 110 N. Carpenter Street in Chicago's West Loop neighborhood. An example of McDonald's commitment to the city of Chicago, this new facility will bring teams from McDonald's corporate office and the existing Innovation Center (IC) in Romeoville, IL together in a new innovative environment creating more opportunities for collaboration and end-to-end development of...

Southeastern Grocers to Debut Innovative Delivery and Curbside Pickup Experience by DoorDash

Southeastern Grocers Inc. (SEG), parent company and home of Fresco y Más, Harveys Supermarket and Winn-Dixie grocery stores, will soon offer a new, convenient means to shop for groceries online that will also allow customers to enjoy the same prices as shopping in store. Starting in October, customers can utilize SEG’s proprietary new offering to shop their local Winn-Dixie and Harveys Supermarket stores online and have their groceries delivered right to them in as little as two hours with the benefit of in-store deals and...

Instacart Announces Acquisition of Rosie

Acquisition brings Rosie's e-commerce platform and team of experts to Instacart, giving local independent grocers access to a broader range of technology and fulfillment capabilities to grow their businesses

Instacart, the leading grocery technology company in North America, today announced it has acquired Rosie, the premier e-commerce platform for local and independent retailers and wholesalers. With this acquisition, Instacart is deepening its commitment to serving local and independent grocers and expanding its Instacart Platform e-commerce offerings.

Founded in Ithaca, NY in 2013, the Rosie team has spent nearly a decade building relationships...

Wendy's Announces Innovative New Global Restaurant Design Standard: "Global Next Gen"

The Wendy's Company announced today a new global restaurant design standard, Global Next Gen, for enhanced customer, crew and digital experiences. Beginning Fall 2022, Wendy's® new traditional restaurant builds will feature a sleek and modern design with an optimized layout and next-generation technology to deliver more Wendy's to more people with an emphasis on convenience, speed and accuracy.

"To accelerate our business and expand our footprint across the globe, we must consistently meet the needs of our customers however they chose to engage with Wendy's, whether that's..."

Lunchbox Acquires Novadine to Transform the Entire Guest Experience for Enterprise Restaurants

Lunchbox, the modern ordering system built to grow online revenue for restaurants today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire NovaDine, an enterprise digital ordering provider for multi-unit restaurant chains. As Lunchbox accelerates geographic growth across the country, this is the first of many steps in the company's plans to invest in new technologies for restaurants.

Together, Lunchbox and NovaDine will offer an alternative to the currently available enterprise solutions and enable restaurant operators to manage all digital guest experiences from a single...

Wing Zone Partners with Miso Robotics

Today, Wing Zone – one of the nation's leading fast-casual brands serving made-to-order flavor-packed chicken wings – announced a partnership with Miso Robotics – the company transforming the restaurant industry with robotics and intelligent automation – to make Flippy 2 a part of the chain's standard build for all future restaurant locations. Wing Zone is the first fast-casual brand in the world to spec food robotics into its operations at this level.

"With over 100 new shops in our current development pipeline, our technology roadmap relies heavily on strategic partnerships with companies like..."

IHOP® Selects TRAY POS as New Vendor

TRAY, an innovative Point of Sale and restaurant management platform geared toward Enterprise restaurants, today announced a multi-year deal with IHOP® restaurants in the US.

In this new partnership, IHOP will be upgrading its current POS systems to TRAY's system. The new system allows IHOP franchisees to leverage more efficient training, and allows for more up to date technology throughout the restaurants. Since TRAY technology uses Android-based hardware, it provides an additional cost-savings opportunity for franchisees and allows for rapid conversion with minimal restaurant disruption...

Motional and Uber Eats Launch Autonomous Deliveries in Santa Monica

Today, Motional and Uber launched autonomous deliveries for Uber Eats customers in Santa Monica, California. Motional’s all-electric IONIQ 5 vehicles, operating autonomously, are now conducting end-to-end food deliveries.

“Autonomous delivery signifies the next phase of Motional’s commercial roadmap,” said Abe Ghabra, Motional’s Chief Operating Officer. “This service will provide the learnings and experience needed to make Motional the trusted AV provider for on-demand delivery networks. We’re proud to partner with Uber on this important milestone and begin introducing Uber Eats customers to autonomous technology...”

Marco's Pizza® Shifts to a 100% Cloud-Based Order Management Technology Platform

Marco's Pizza, one of the nation's fastest-growing pizza brands, unveils a major project to accelerate its digital capabilities and drive growth. The brand's strategic investments in technology and innovation center around migrating to a 100% cloud-based proprietary technology platform - Marco's Order Management System (MOMS).

This platform is designed to improve the customer experience as well as simplify operations for the franchisees and store team members. Testing is currently underway with plans to roll out first into all company-operated stores by year-end, with franchise...

Chipotle Launches $50 Million Venture Fund to Foster Innovation

Chipotle is launching a $50 million venture fund.

Chipotle Mexican Grill is hoping to revolutionize the restaurant industry.

The quick-service restaurant chain announced the launch of Cultivate Next, a venture fund that will support seed-to-Series B stage companies that focus on increasing technology and innovation in restaurant operations and align with its mission to “Cultivate a Better World.” The fund will have an initial size of $50 million and will be financed solely by Chipotle.

The fund launch comes as the company is continuing its...

Nathan's Famous to Pilot With Let us Nudge in 15 Locations Throughout the U.S.

Nathan's Famous, the American tradition serving New York favorites for more than 100 years, announces its partnership with Let us Nudge, an emergent restaurant technology solution that provides table seating efficiencies during both busy and slow times. We expect the Let us Nudge technology will enable Nathan's to increase sales through campaign management and targeted coupons at 15 Nathan's Famous locations throughout the country with the Nudge@Home platform.

"At Nathan's Famous, we are always seeking partners with innovative technology that enables us to offer our customers..."

Convenience, Technology and Engagement are the Changing Face of Grocery Shopping in India

Grocery shopping has entered a new era in India, influenced by factors such as the fast-paced changes in technology and evolving consumer behaviour. Here, we explore the key trends that are influencing Indian consumers’ online and in-store grocery shopping habits.

Engaging experiences, convenient delivery
The pandemic has given rise to a number of ordering and delivery services – bringing home-bound consumers everything from medicines to groceries. Two in five Indian consumers find using online grocery shopping apps convenient. At the same time, nearly two-thirds...